I think that you misread my post. Or overread it. Sometimes, its harder to express things on the net, I guess. The point wasn't to stop you from criticising the lsit. It was more to express shocjk that you let Bordello of Blood pass. I'm going to read through the rest of what you said, probably, and post something else here.
Oh, the other classic (for those unbiased by anti-mainstream hype) was Scream, not Ringu. Though, that was also one of the best of the 90's.

For me, Blair Witch is a classic because its scary and realistic. I barely saw any ads (just a nice poster with the woods in negative), read no reviews, and (this is where I think I was able to enjoy it more than most) I saw it before anyone told me it was "the scariest movie ever" (advance screenings are great). I went in with no expectations. I didn't go in thinking that everything that happened was real. I'm not stupid. But the way it played out was realistic. Things started slowly. Even the characters were laughing at the stupid crap. Slowly, it built tension. The characters (and actors) get more and more scared (which is where the brilliance of the experimental concept worked). It builds to the climax of these people running through the woods to their very doom. Finally, at the end, we see nothing. Why? Because its a ghost movie more akin to The Haunting (original), than The Haunting (remake). Enjoyment is always subjective, so I can't defend the movie anymore than that. I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy it. I wish everyone could have had the same experience I had.
Since I'll have to defend Scream next, i may as well get started now. That movie was a resurgance for American horror for me. Watching it in the theatre (advance screening, pre-hype, again), I loved it. It was intense and fun and gory and scary. The way that Ghostface came out of everywhere (explained so nicely at the end) and chased her around freaked me out. The horror was masterfully crafted and the characters written well enough that I cared about who lived and died. Plus, by benefit of the ensemble feell, I knew that some of the ones that I cared about would die. That's what I call suspense.

I fucking HATED blair-witch, the 3 people I went to see it with really liked it, but I walked out with that "is that it??!!" kind of feeling.

No plot, stupid characters, horrible camera work (although I realise that's thr point).

Add to that the fact that at the end I thought the guy in the corner was just having a piss kind of made it more funny than anything else

BW2 was better (and that was pretty shite) and Scream was in a completley different league, again it's not great, but it's an enjoyable and entertaining film. I think that part of the problem with both (most modern films?) is that they got hyped so much that there is no way they could live up to expectations.

ehm

1) My eyes are crossing after reading so much white text on black background. Maybe you should consider making alternate stylesheets

2) I grew up in eastern part of Europe. Before 1990 it was quite hard to get movies on tapes or laserdiscs and local television didn't air anything even remotely close to a horror. All we got were some italian westerns maybe. I was only able to fill my horror knowledge with coming of reasonable fast internet, let's say 5 years ago. Before that it was just few horror movies in theatres and couple on vhs, which of course had to be well known to make it all the way to me (NIghtmare on Elm Street, Friday 13th, Cannibal Ferox...). When I was making my list, I only included movies I've seen and that's not as much as you guys have. Also I like reading other people's list, because I can learn about movies I've never knew existed and try to download it and see for myself.

3) For the same reason as above, I've only seen like 10-15 asian horror movies and I guess 2 Kurosawa's movies. Ring wasn't the first. I don't say asian movies are bad, they are just different and not really my type. They have good atmospheric and scary scenes, but overall not as good as let's say original TCM. And yes, I got this feeling from those 10-15 I've seen and I don't say there can't be a movie would really like and I would put it in my top 10 list. I'm no critic and I din't study anything concerning movies, so it's just my 'feelings' about asian movies.

4) Blair Witch. I don't know any background shit about some fat american critc, I just went to the movie (as I do with every horror movie that makes it to the theatres over here) and enjoyed it. I didn't care about thick plot (if any), I didn't care about actors' performances, I didn't care about how cheap it was. I just imagined myself lost in that woods with something sneaking around and that did it for me. And yes, it has atmosphere.

5) GrindCallus wrote: "BWP should have been a cult film, but alas marketing genious sucked the life from it." How come? So you are saying that marketing decides whether a movie becomes a cult or not? More marketing means less cult? If that's the case, then I don't care about movie cult status. All that matters to me is if I like it. And we have to be grateful to those horror movies, that made it to theatres and earned some money, because it means there will be bigger tolerance toward horror and more of them will make it to cinemas or rentals. That's why I go to the movies to see them even I've seen them before on xvid. And I like mainstream horrors (not all, some), not just 'underground' ones. If that makes me less of a horror fan, so be it.

6) Bordello of Blood because there is Erika Eleniak in it

I'm with PCA on the bw2 comment... BW2 was better, and before that gets miss interpretted, It sucked ass, but at least it tried to be a movie.



Change templates in your profile, the options always been there.



erm... well. of course silly, if it becomes profitable and famous from the offset, then it is impossible to be a cult movie.

Cult, by definition means that it failed at first, or got a huge up surgence because it was a GOOD MOVIE in its own way. That's why imo, BW never, ever had what it took to be a cult movie, because it fails to be appealing on all levels. Its marketing bullshit that got it where it is.

For example, star wars could never be cult, successful at first. Blade Runner is cult, it failed to acheive any recognition (cos it was pretty shoddy) until it was re-edited into a watchable movie as it was originally intended. Anything that was shunned but through force of following, and nearly always quality it gets through all of the shit and proves it deserves a higher status. I have trouble criticising/arguing/debating cult movies a lot of the time, because well they normally have redeeming features which is why they are cult movies.

And once again, to be abundantly clear, BW was never going to be a cult movie for the reasons i made clear. No one would have ever given two rats about it, or at least i find that extremely hard to believe.



There i definitely don't agree, especially since Scream came up. That movie killed the entire genre in hollywood. Completely, when they get a "huge" horror film it normally marks the turn for the worst.. And once again here i agree with PCA, scream is a movie, BW is a mess. I might not like scream at all, but its way more entertaining than bw.

Why can't they latch onto movies that are actually good, I feel like tearing my hear out... I mean what was wrong with Candyman ffs? Why couldn't they copy that.



Woah, back up there buddy... TCM is far better than the ring, it no way deserves that status to be compared to TCM, but its a movie from the 90s, and it owns most of them. Asian horror is in a bit of a kafuddle recently too, at least the big movies. Luckily, its actually many film industries and they are extremely varied.

btw. You not like Akira's work? Man I love Ran, its one of my favourite movies. Everyone goes for Severn Samurai, but i get the feeling most people haven't even seen it.... anyone see Ricky Gervias in Extras?



Does no1 like demon knight or something? wtf was with the last so called crypt movie?

I liked Demon Knight WAY better than Bordello..saw them both at the theatre....Bordello was watching HBO at a theatre...Demon was an actual good movie all the way around.Never liked TCM so I can't compare it to anything except loads of other movies with minimal gore and bad lighting.Why everyone loves that movie is still beyond me...wasn't scarey when I saw it as a kid..still not scarey...I get quite bored.

If you didn't like it, why did you watch it more than once?

Sometimes with age..your taste changes....Liek I said...watched it when I was a kid.Then watched it as a teen.Then watched it as an adult.In the case of TCM...the flavor remains the same for me.Very bland.

That's too bad. Do you like any of the sequels, rip-offs (House of 1000 Corpses, etc.) or the remake?

Yeah I do

I changed my mind on Scream being a resurgance for American horror. Wrong word. American horror floundered in the 90s. The wave oif independants that they rode from the 70s died on the rocky corporate shore of the 80s. The 90s are what we are left with. That's why there's so little American horror in my list for the 90s. In the 00s the greatest profits for the American horror market are coming from remakes. Indy films are picking up steam again, and the cycle continues. What Scream was, was a great horror movie and one of the only bright spots for American horror.

That's why i watch movies (and particular old tv series) a few times.

I didn't like Exorcist at all at first when i first saw it, its actually quite good in the right mood.

Ah, much better, thanks for the tip But I was actually thinking of possibility to change css just for reading single page and keep global profile to black. But this works just fine LOL

Well, if this is what makes a cult movie, then I must say I had a little twisted vision and your explanation makes it pretty clear to me.

Hmm.. not for me. I liked Scream a lot. And when I look at my movie collection, before scream in 90's there are hardly some movies, but after scream it got better and in 00's lots of movies I like.

Totally agree with you, original TCM is the best horror movie for me. And that's why I compare everything to TCM. Few things come close, but most of them not. So I was trying to say, that Ring and all other asian movies I've seen come nowhere near in overall, but they do have some nice scenes I liked.

It's ok, what I've seen, but not really something I'm dying to see I'll try Ran then..

I always thought The Exorcist was more hype than anything else..When I did see it as a kid it didnt' scare me..Shocked me perhaps but didn't scare.Everyone was telling me I would have nightmares and the whole shitincaboodle but it didnt' really faze me at all.I must say I did like the recut of it...Some of those scenes are hilarious.

Top Ten according to a survey by Total Film :

1. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
2. Halloween (1978)
3. Suspiria (1977)
4. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
5. The Shining (1980)
6. Psycho (1960)
7. The Wicker Man (1973)
8. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
9. Don't Look Now (1973)
10. Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

Not a bad list by anyone's standards

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainmen ... 323968.stm

TCM at #1?Halloween @#2?Don't Look Now @#9?Pretty sheepish list.
Well...I ain't just anyone so I guess my standards don't apply here Pretty pathetic list though IMO

Except Dxa

Oooooh; Think some of you lot need to get laid/get shit-faced!
BWP isnt too bad a movie, imo, (not a cult/classic, tho). Sure it was cheap, had zero plot and yes, the 'men in suits' pushed it way too hard. But Hey! I seem to remember a little film called Night Of The Living Dead that cost about ?10 to make, had zero plot, etc etc...
Dont jump on me here; I aint comparing the two at all. Im simply saying that a film will make a different impact on a different person at different times!
To slag somebody off just coz they think differently to you is, imo, way outta order! Yes, this is a forum where dicussion should be encouraged. But there should also be respect for others opinions too!
I quite liked BWP; not because of the hype/is it real? bollocks. Simply because I felt the makers had a nice little idea, and pulled it off quite well. I felt it was pretty creepy; no answers, no-name actors, no idea where it was going, etc. Not in my top-ten, but still a lot better than BOBlood et al. BW2 was shite in the smelliest sense; A cash-in sequel, (arent they all?), that had MTV stereotypes non-acting their way thru a non-scary-story.
No surprise that the originals makers didnt really have much to do with it, (cept probably to make a little extra cash from the 'concept', which is fair-play).
Im sure Im gonna get slagged too, but hey; Sue Me for having an opinion!
I personally dont have a top-ten of ANY films. Like I said earlier; a film can affect me in different ways at different times, so the list would change daily!
Sure there are the 'classics'. But I dont rate stuff high or low just cos of reviews or revenues it may have received.
Likewise, just because a film made shit-all at the Box Office does not a cult film make! First and foremost, it has to be a good film!
Sometimes a great film might bomb due to a million different reasons, (bad release timing, changes in distributor, changes in the social climate, etc, etc), but if it IS a great film, it will eventually get the notice it deserves!
Does that make it a cult film? Not in my opinion. Im not even sure the term 'cult' is really applicable to any film. It is either a good or bad film in the eye of the beholder. Period.
The Exorcist made more money upon its second theatrical release, (and subsequent DVD release), than when it first came out. It is a good film, (especially for when it was made), but was probably released ahead of its time. Moviegoers back then had seen nothing like it!
Im gibbering, now.
Please feel free to lynch me...
PS; I think a lot of the reason that recent Asian cinema is regarded as shite, (including Ringu-which imo ended their reign), is that, just like in Hollywood, most movies are made to make money. Yes, Ran is an awesome film, made by a director/team with integrity, but, (again, just like in HWood), it is in the minority.
Just my opinion. Dont slag me cos I have one, tho; Respect it but by all means give me yours!
Cheers in fear!
Pot

Erm? where exactly? If you mean criticising and disagreement, then I think your taking it too personally. I think you'll find that's all that's happened; criticism of choices and statements.

Once again, my policy is an opinion that can not stand up to criticism isn't well formed or presented imo
Your comments about lynching and opinion is opinion seems like a shield if you ask me; defend your opinion if its under criticism, or ignore it if you prefer... nobodies taking the piss out of you for having an opinion. as the song goes... "express yourself"

If people just posted lists without any comments it would be exceptionally lame.

Now, for example, a bit of indulgence into your comments is required methinks.
how does getting laid make BWP any less terrible? its not the budget (imo budget has little relevance to whether a film is good or not, and your making out as though because it has no budget a piece of turd needs to be put on a pedastal), its because its f*cking lame and tedious as shit, the fact it has no budget just means it looks crappy too, whereas if it had some value to the film, the budget would be something that impeded the movie (or worked in its favour depending on the style). Some say that's "atmosphere", but its incidental and very ropey if that's the case, I just thought it made it really tedious, and the crappiness of the movie just made it boring, uninspiring, unoriginal and just plain unimportant.

I wonder sometimes if people are watching the same movie, devoid of substances with long periods of nothing happening... that to me is not a film, but a waste of time. Given there's no environment or characters to fill this space, its just dead time to fill up a theatrical release runtime. And, call me cynical if you want, but its pretty damn obvious that this dead material was to do just that.

There's no redeeming feature what so ever, which is the problem and why its hated so much. It makes the comparison to night of the living dead incredibly irrelevant. Notld had a simple plot, but it was substantially better in pretty much every regard. It was original, intreging and had one of the best endings I've seen in a movie, or at least it had an ending that was very profound and added a large amount of social commentry to it. That, my friend, is why George Romero has the name he does. His movies are way more intelligent and appealing than your letting on.

I think that list by total film is about right for the times.

The 'get laid/shitfaced' comment was meant to lighten the mood a little; worked a treat!
As for BWP; I just felt, (at the time I saw it at the cinema and, admittedly, havnt since), that it was quite atmospheric and very unlike a lot of so-called 'horror' that was out at the time. If nothing else it was a bit different!
Like I said above; 'I aint comparing the two',(NOTLD v BWP), other than to make the point, (as you do yourself), that a low-budget does not necessarily mean a poor film. Personally, (as I also stated above), I wouldnt put BWP in my top 1000 films, let alone my top 10, (Im not entirely sure why Im defending it TBH!), I just felt it was quite an interesting 'experience'.
I also enjoyed the ending; at the time I recall being a little stoned and it took me by complete surprise! Again, as I said above; 'a film can affect diff peeps at diff times in diff ways'. I had a 'whitey' on the way home from it! Maybe they should have handed out free 'biftas' at the cinema to 'enrichen', (that a word?), the experience!
As for BWP being 'devoid of substances with long periods of nothing happening' I agree, but I also think that was part of its point! No gore, very little violence, just a bunch of 'normal', boring, stupid peeps out to make a name for themselves, coming up against 'something' that defied explanation. A 'something' that ended up killing them all off.
Thankfully the film, (possibly due to budget/lack of imagination/intentional?), never shows/explains as such what that 'something' is. It just worked on a bass level for me. No MTV jump-cuts, no 'name' actors, and no plot to speak of, (which is why, for me, it felt quite unpredictable).
As for George Romero having the name he does, I agreed up until I saw Land Of The Dead recently. Now Im not so sure, (he sez, opening another can-o-worms!). Ive seen every film he has done, and they are all 'worthwhile' films, to lesser and greater degrees, but I just couldnt swallow Land... I maybe had too-high hopes for it...
Oh well...
As far as cinema goes, (this goes for the whole world market, not just Asian/US/Dutch(?) films), everytime there is a hit flik, (ie Scream, Ringu, Whatever), you can guarantee that there will be a 1000 imitations/sequels out in the following weeks/months in the vain hope of cashing in.
That is why a 'Big' movie can ruin an entire genre for a while; The studios will shelve a lot of original stuff in order to try and repeat the success. After all; films, even, (especially?), low-budget ones, need to make a profit!
Its a risky business, Im sure, and tho I dont necessarily like it, I can understand the reasons for them doing it.